Originally Posted by
Aussie2B
There isn't really any benefit, it's just my personal preference. Many of LRG's Vita releases are PSTV compatible (some aren't), but I don't even have a PSTV myself. I've never been one to particularly crave playing my handheld games on a TV. I never bothered using TV out with my PSP, I never bought a Game Boy Player for GameCube, and though I did buy a Super Game Boy in the 2000s for a few bucks, I've barely used the thing. Meanwhile, I've surely sunk hundreds of hours playing GB/GBC games on my GBA SP.
As for why I pass on the PS4 versions and get the Vita versions, first, it was just a matter of practicality. I owned a Vita before LRG even existed, but I didn't get a PS4 until about a month ago. For a while there, I was buying PS4 games that I couldn't even play. Then there's the fact that the Vita is a more collectible system. The PS4 is hugely successful and gets loads of games. Sony more or less abandoned the Vita, and now it's all about niche games. While it gets a steady stream of US releases, there aren't tons. Even after all these years, I believe there are still only around 200 physical US releases. If I was ever so inclined to go for a full set, I would be way more likely to do that with the Vita than the PS4, hence I'd rather get the rarest releases when their cheap than at inflated prices on the used market years down the road. Then there's just the fact that I'd like more to play on Vita, as I'm really fond of the system. Not that I'm really lacking there, my Vita backlog is already over 50 games deep, haha. Lastly, since most of LRG's releases are indies, and most are relatively simplistic games, there's no performance benefit to playing them on PS4. They run the same on either, and personally, I think these sorts of simple games are better suited to handhelds rather than today's home consoles. I don't care to have a simple retro-style 2D game on a massive HD screen, running on hardware designed for huge AAA games. Like when LRG released the second and third Shantae games, just on PS4, I personally wish I could play them on Vita instead. And they've got Rabi-Ribi coming in the future, which is a 2D Metroid-style game, and while I already have the game on Steam, I think I'll enjoy it even more as a handheld game.